I have a good friend taking the family (adult kids) on a dream trip. They start in Geneva, to visit family that live there, but need to be in Tuscany, near Sienna for their dream vacation. They are not keen on renting a car, because they don’t want to drive.
Any ideas or experience on a great way to get from Geneva to Tuscany without renting a car?
Rome2rio.com would be your first stop to give you travel options. I don't think there are any direct flights to Florence, which would be the closest international Airport. There is train service, with a likely change of trains in Milan for Florence. From there it would be a bus to Siena. If you tell us the name of the town then we could help with any public transportation options. Otherwise, they may need a car for the last part of their trip.
Hi Mo,
When we traveled from Zurich to Siena, we took the train to Stresa, stayed two nights, and then took the train to Florence & the bus to Siena. Beginning from Geneva would be similar. We had been to Siena, previously, so we knew that the bus will leave them off in the city close to the hotel where we stayed.
Stresa is a nice spot to stay - beautiful historical elegance, plus the small islands to explore - Isola Bella’s villa & gardens, Isola Pescatori is a tiny fishing village with a few restaurants. (I’ve returned a few times to spend more days in this area,)
Otherwise, they could stop at Milan as their midpoint place.
Traveling by train is very easy. We’ve been in Europe a dozen times and have never rented a car,
Fly nonstop from Geneva to Rome. There’s a direct train from Rome’s Fiumicino Airport to Florence’s SM Novella station departing at 1:53 PM arriving at 4:11 PM. You can then take a taxi to the bus station and take the next direct bus from Florence to Siena (1h 15m).
Could either do as Marypat suggests and fly into Rome, or alternatively you could fly from Geneva to Florence and then train or bus down to Siena from there.
Staying in Siena itself would allow you to book day trips and tours to explore the countryside without a car.
If you'll be staying very far outside the city you'd really need to reconsider renting a car if your intention is to tour the area independently.
There’s a direct train from Rome’s Fiumicino Airport to Florence’s SM Novella station departing at 1:53 PM arriving at 4:11 PM. You can then take a taxi to the bus station
Isn't the bus station just outside the rail station SMN? It used to be???
Nigel: the bus station in Florence is indeed still next to SMN Railway Station.
I walked past it a few weeks ago.
It's just across the street, more or less....a 3-minute walk between them.
Isn't the bus station just outside the rail station SMN? It used to be???
What's the name of the bus station? I had a heck of a time finding my way back from the bus station to my hotel. I did not recognize the area. I know the area around SM Novella station. Maybe it was around the corner and I walked in the wrong direction.
It's 434 miles from Geneva to Florence by cars, and the roads are mountainous.
A train will take you over 6 hours to get from Geneva to Florence.
Swiss International Air Lines does have flights to Florence.
Then you take a bus from across the street from the Florence train station to Siena. The trains take longer and they drop you off on the outskirts of Siena.
